The Weather Outside Is Frightful
by Elfalas
Summary: Sarah expresses a wish for snow, and Jareth obliges. Complete fluff and nonsense, inspired by the blizzard currently raging here in New England. ONE SHOT


Sarah sat on the balcony outside the royal bedchamber. Her gaze traveled out over the vast labyrinth, and she sighed.

From the wingchair by the fire where he was lounging reading a book by its flickering light, Jareth looked up. In the years that they had been married, he had come to know his wife's moods intimately and could read her at a glance. He frowned slightly. She only sighed like that when she thought about her old life Aboveground. Sarah had taken easily to life as the Goblin Queen, reveling in the unconditional love of her devoted husband and loyal subjects, but there were still times, rare though they were, when she missed her old life, or some aspect of it.

Jareth swung his leg down from the arm of the chair and rose to his feet, setting aside his book. He crossed the room quietly and came to stand behind Sarah. He gently wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him.

Bending down, he murmured in her ear, "What is it, precious?"

Without turning, Sarah replied, "It's nothing. Really."

"My love, you do not sigh like that for nothing. Now, tell me what is wrong."

Sarah looked up at him over her shoulder.

"It's just that, the weather here is always the same."

Jareth's eyebrows shot up.

"The weather?" he asked in confusion. Why was she upset about the weather?

"Yeah," Sarah replied, turning back to look out over the landscape. "It's always warm here."

"And this is a problem, why?"

Sarah gave a small laugh.

"It's not really a problem," she replied, "more like an observation."

"I see," Jareth replied, although he had no idea where she was going with this. "And why does it trouble you that the weather here is always warm?"

"It doesn't exactly trouble me," Sarah replied, "It's just that I miss seeing snow."

Jareth's brow cleared. He was beginning to understand.

"Did it snow often when you lived Above?"

"Not that often. We only had a few big snows a year, but it always made everything so beautiful. I wonder what the labyrinth would look like in the snow."

"White," Jareth replied.

Sarah turned and swatted playfully at his arm.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," she said with a laugh.

"I try my best," he replied with a grin.

Sarah stood and kissed him.

"It's getting late," she said. "I'm going to bed."

"Sweet dreams, precious."

"You too."

Sarah turned to look outside one last time.

"I just wish it would snow here once in a while," she sighed before heading back into their bedroom.

Jareth waited until she was out of sight, then swiftly summoned a crystal. A smile played on his lips as he rolled the crystal over his hands and arms. Turning towards the labyrinth, he threw the crystal out into the darkness as far as he could. A moment later, soft, fat, white flakes filled the air and began to drift silently down around the castle.

"As you wish, my love," he murmured before turning to follow his wife inside.

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The following morning, the denizens of the labyrinth awoke to an extraordinary sight. Every surface, high and low, was covered with a foot of cold, fluffy snow, lending a softness to the otherwise harsh lines of the imposing structure. As the sun rose, its rays made the snow gleam so that the entire labyrinth appeared to be covered in a blanket of white crystal.

Most of the goblins had never seen snow before. They crowded around the main doors of the castle, gazing in wonder at the snow-covered landscape. None of them were brave enough to venture outside, and they tried to shove one another out the door, each afraid to be the first to touch the cold, white substance. They drew back from the entrance as they heard the approaching footsteps of the Goblin King.

Jareth reached the doorway and glared down at them.

"What are you all standing around gawping at?" he demanded.

A small goblin stepped forward and tapped hesitantly on his king's boot. Jareth regarded him with a raised eyebrow.

"Well?"

The goblin pointed out the door and said, "Da lab'rnth."

"Well, what of it?"

The goblin looked from the whiteness outside the door to the king, not sure how to proceed.

"It white," he said finally.

"Yes, so it is."

"It not s'pposed be white."

"Oh, isn't it?"

The goblin paused, considering. He turned to his fellows.

"Is da lab'rinth s'pposed be white?" he asked.

The goblins conferred among themselves, all voicing their opinions at once. In the stone corridor, the noise was deafening. Jareth spread his arms, gesturing for silence.

"Quiet!" he roared.

The goblins immediately ceased their gibbering, regarding their king with upturned faces. The small goblin spoke again.

"Why da lab'rinth white?" he asked Jareth.

"Because I have decided that it should be so," Jareth replied haughtily. "As a present for the Queen."

"Oh-ohhh," the goblins chorused.

That made everything all right in their eyes. Anything that was done to please their beloved queen was fine with them.

The small goblin spoke up again.

"What da white stuff called?" he asked.

"It's called snow," Jareth replied.

The goblins considered that for a moment, murmuring among themselves.

"What snow like?" the small goblin asked.

"Why don't you find out?" Jareth asked.

Before the small goblin could reply, Jareth kicked him out the door, sending him sailing directly into a particularly deep snowdrift. The other goblins watched anxiously, waiting to see what effect the snow would have on their compatriot. After a moment, the small goblin reappeared, sputtering and shaking snow from his ears, but otherwise unharmed.

"What it like?" another goblin called to him.

"Find out for yourself," Jareth said, kicking that goblin out the door to join the first.

At that, pandemonium broke loose, as all of the goblins clamored to be the next one kicked out the door by the Goblin King. Jareth spent the next few minutes kicking the eager goblins out into the snow one by one. They squealed with delight as they sailed through the air and landed in the cold snow. Before long, they were shoving each other down into the deeper drifts and were energetically throwing snowballs at one another. Jareth regarded their antics with an amused smile. Sometimes the little urchins got on his nerves, but he did love to see them happy and enjoying themselves.

He strode down the steps of the castle, his booted feet sinking deep into the soft drifts of snow. As he reached the bottom, a snowball came sailing through the air and hit him in the chest, plastering itself across the front of his brown leather jacket. Jareth glanced down at it, then glared around for the perpetrator. Hoggle stood across the square, pointing at him and almost doubled over with laughter. Jareth frowned and was on the brink of grabbing the offending dwarf by his ear and sending him straight to the bog, when he heard a squeal behind him.

Turning, he saw his wife standing at the top of the castle steps, clad in her Aboveground winter clothing – a puffy, blue coat, jeans, snow boots, and thick mittens. She had a bright pink hat on her head, complete with an enormous pompom, and her long hair was pulled into a neat braid that fell quite fetchingly down her back. She squealed again and rushed past him into the snow.

Jareth turned to follow her, grinning broadly, only to have a snowball explode squarely in his face. Staggering backwards, he wiped the encrusted snow from his eyes and mouth, intending to teach that filthy dwarf a lesson. Before he could move, however, another snowball hit him in the shoulder. He turned to the direction from which it had come, murder in his eyes, to see Sarah laughing at him, hefting yet another handful of packed snow. His eyebrow twitched, and he struggled to keep a smile from showing on his face.

"So, that's the game you want to play, is it, precious?" he drawled.

Sarah laughed.

"I should warn you, Jareth," she replied, her eyes sparkling, "it's a game I'm quite good at. Toby and I used to have epic snowball fights in our backyard."

Jareth cocked an eyebrow.

"Is that a challenge, Sarah?" he asked, his own eyes gleaming back at her.

"Game on, Jareth," she replied with a grin.

She threw her snowball at him, but this time he saw it coming and ducked in time to avoid it. Scooping up snow in his gloved hands, he formed a snowball of his own. He turned to throw it at Sarah, but she was nowhere to be seen. As he stood there looking around in confusion, yet another snowball hit him in the back of the head. He heard Sarah giggle behind him.

"You really shouldn't stand out in the open like that, Jareth," she teased. "You make such an easy target."

Jareth turned to face her.

"There is nothing easy about me, woman."

"Don't I know it," Sarah said, sighing and rolling her eyes mockingly.

"Wait until I get you back inside, wench," Jareth said, advancing on her.

"You'll have to catch me first, Jareth," Sarah laughed, dancing away from him invitingly.

Jareth pursued her and was just about to throw his snowball at her, when he was again hit from behind. Turning away from Sarah, he saw Hoggle diving out of sight behind what appeared to be a wall of snow. It seemed that the dwarf had constructed his own snow fort. Jareth lobbed the snowball in his hand in Hoggle's direction, just as another snowball hit him in the back, this time thrown by Sarah. His wife and the dwarf had him in a crossfire.

Retreating to the far side of the square, Jareth glanced down at the gaggle of goblins that had congregated there.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" he barked at them. "Return fire!"

That was all the incentive the goblins needed. Before long, the air was thick with flying snowballs, some of which hit their marks, while most whizzed harmlessly past their intended targets. Hoggle and Sarah managed to score several more direct hits on the Goblin King, despite the covering fire laid down by his minions.

Jareth threw a snowball at Hoggle, just as the dwarf raised his head above the wall of his fort. He was gratified to see Hoggle stagger backwards, snow encrusted on his forehead. However, his victory was short-lived, as another of Sarah's snowballs hit him in the left ear. He turned towards her and noted that she had taken up a position behind the fountain in the center of the square.

Rallying the goblins around him, he led a frontal assault on her position, throwing as many snowballs at her as he could while advancing. Sarah made and threw snowballs as fast as she could, but she was no match for the Goblin King and the horde of enthusiastic goblins at his command. They soon had her surrounded, pummeling her from all sides with snowballs.

Sarah attempted to back away from the goblins, but tripped over the side of the fountain. Jareth caught her before she fell and swept her up in his arms.

"It seems I've won, precious," he purred in her ear.

"I demand a rematch," Sarah laughed, looking up at him with dancing eyes and flushed cheeks.

"Perhaps later," he said, cocking an eyebrow at her. "But first, I intend to collect my prize."

He turned and carried Sarah up the steps and into the castle, amid the raucous cheers of the goblins.

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Later, as they lay in bed together, Sarah snuggled close to her husband.

"Jareth?"

"Hmmm?" was his sleepy reply.

"Did you do that for me?" she asked. "The snow, I mean."

He raised his head and regarded her.

"Of course," he replied.

"Why?"

"Because I knew it would make you happy."

Sarah smiled at him and gently kissed him on the lips.

"Thank you, Jareth," she said.

"You're welcome, Sarah," he replied.

"I still want a rematch," she teased.

"Game on, Sarah," Jareth replied with a mischievous grin.


End file.
